West Coast Times. WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 27,1867.

West Coast Times, Issue 679, 27 November 1867, Page 2

West Coast Times. WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 1867.

That England can never have a little war, is an old saying, the truth of which is about to receive a new illustration in the Expedition against Abysinia. Naval and military preparations, which will, it is estimated, compel the Queen's Government to ask for a "first vote" of no less than ten millions sterling from the Imperial Parliament ; the employment of a large fleet of transports ; au army equipped with mules and dromedaries ; the use of a weapon of peculiarly scientific construction, calculated to meet the emergencies of a mountain war ; are amongst the incidents of the enterprise, that indicate cost, toil, and clanger. We furnish, from an English paper, iv another column, a detailed account of the preparations that are being made for the punishment of King Theodore, and the release of the British subjects who are held captive by him. It is evident fiat those who have undertaken this enterprise are fully sensible of the magnitude of the task they have in baud; and whilst an able and experienced soldier has been placed at the command of the forces, he has been invested with full power to call additional troops from India to his aid, should the exigencies of the war render such a step necessary or desirable. Little is popularly known of Abyssinia, and still less probably by the public at large of _ the merits of the quarrel into which Queen Victoria has been plunged with a half-barba-rious potentate of Africa. The popular understanding is that the whole affair has arisen out of a ridiculous case of " rejected addresses." King Theodore, hearing that Queen Victoria was a widow, laid at Her Majesty's feet the off»r of his crown and dignity, asked her to become his for better for worse ; and either because the British Consul at the Court of Abyssinia refused to forward this missive to his Royal mistress, or because he neglected to communicate a favorable reply, he and some other British subjects were imprisoned, as a punishment for the insult with which King Theodore considered he had been treated. After being threatened from time to time with, death, they are still held iv hopeless captivity until they are. rescued by foi cc of arms. In all respects except the wrong done to the Queen's subjects, this story seems ridiculo\is enough. But there appears reason to believe that it scarcely exhausts the facts of the case. Abyssinia is one of the most important districts of Africa, measuring 670 miles from north to south, and 540 from east to west, thus covering an area of upwards of 280,000 square miles, or considerably more than double the extent of the British islands. It has a population estimated at over three mil- I lions, of whom the majority are said to be professors of a not very refined phase of Christianity. Over this territory and people King Theodore has established, his su|3i'Ginacy by a succession of victories over numerous petty chiefs ; and — say many writers in tho English newspapers — he is systematically aiming to make use of the power he has thus consolidated to elevate the people over whom he rules in the scale of civilisation. In point of fact they present the King of Abyssinia to us as one of the reformers of the age, deeply impressed with a sense of the value of the civilsation of Western Europe, and anxious to bring its influences to bear upon his people. Amongst other illustrations of his "progressive policy" we are told that several years ago, long before any of the present complications arose, the then Anglican Bishop in Jerusalem received a communication from Theodore, whom he knew as a boy when he lived in Abyssinia, informing him of his snecssion to the throne, and of his desire to improve the condition of his country and people by instructing them in various handicrafts, and asking the Bishop to supply him with workmen for this purpose." The Bishop consented on the condition that the men he sent should be allowed to distribute the Scriptures, and, as opportunity ocenrred, instruct the people. This was accepted, and six men trained in the Missionary College at Crischona were sent, Mr Flad being one of them. These men have now been in the country seven or eight years, and have always been, and still are, in high favor with the King. One of thenvonly is a gunmaker, and the others are employed in other ways — carpentering, engineering, road-making." It is alleged that the King, in making proposals for the hand of Queen Victoria, was really animated by a conviction that an alliance with England would tend to " encourage the arts of peace" amongst his subjects, " to establish just laws, and discountenance profligacy by an example of personal morality." Some such purposes, at all events, it is suggested, occupied Avith more or loss definiteness the mind of this " noble savage," who had little power of appreciating all that was involved in his overtures "to the Queen. Whatever value we may attach to this theory, it appears cenain that King Theodore's resentment against the British Government — to whom :'n Iced his anger seems to have transferred, itself on its being explained to him that the Queen of England was n;>t a great monarch like himself, who could d) as

he pleased, but was bound to do whatever her ministers told her — is a somewhat mixed feeling. His great grievance is the neglect or delay of the Q,ueen iv answering his letter, which he regards as a slight to his person and dignity. Having, however, in l"'s first wrath imprisoned all the Queen's subjects he could lay hands on, he determined to hold them to ransom. The nature of the ransom he demanded goes, to some extent, to strengthen the hypothesis that one of Theodore's main aims is to favor the arts of peace amongst his people, and at the same time to supply himself witli the means of consolidating his power. He required that a number of artificers should be sent out to him, who should teach his subjects the way to make guns, rifles, and ammunition. They were to take with them a small steam engine, aud proper tools and instruments, besides a good supply of gunpowder, gun-caps, some double-barrel guns and pistols, and a quantity of carpets, silks, tumWers, and goblets. The English Government were willing enough to gratify these demands, and made preparations accordingly to send out, on a liberal scale, workmen, tools and machinery, and other articles. But they insisted on a point of etiquette which King Theodore did not exactly see. They demauded the release of the captives as a condition precedent, on the ground that it was contrary to the usages of civilised nations to retain, as a prisoner, any person who was accredited as an ambassador, or any of those who accompany him. These stipulations appear to have led to a rupture of the negotiations. The subsequent demands of the English Government have been, met by subterfuges and evasions; and at length with patience exhausted and with growi;-ig,-apprehen-sions as to the fate of the English captives, Great Britaiu has determined to send out a powerful armament to rescue the prisoners, and to bring the Abyssinian King to his senses. It remains to be seen whether that force, powerful a3 it is, is strong enough to encounter the almost unknown difficulties of Abyssinian warfare. The capital has to be reached through a country consisting of a series of terraces or elevated tablelands, intersected by deep gorges and numerous large rivers. The depth of some of these gorges or chasms, geographers tell us may be estimated at 3000 feet, whilst the rivers form stupendous cataracts. No country more difficult for what may be considered an exploring as well as an invading army could be imagined. One writer who speaks from general knowledge of the country affirms that there are no routes practical for the camels that are being purchased for the purpose of carrying guns and gun-carriages, and that there are throe places along the route through which the expedition must pass, where a hundred woodcutters, or a few practical qaarrymen could, within two days, " construct a perfect cul de sac, by which, the whole army could be destroyed by setting fire to the woods on both sides of the pass, near the ' sac,' or by letting off a certain number of small mines simultaneously among the overhanging rocks, which would roll down by thousands, and crush both man aud beast in the torrent below."

No doubt, iv undertaking to subdue this semi-barbarous African king, we are entering upon an untried and perilous battle-ground. We have to wait and see how far pluck, and science, and unlimited resource, will avail to overcome the difficulty. Yet, after all, arc not the chances great that Theodore will come to terms on the first impressive demonstration by a great armed force ? His mind seems to be deeply im. pressed with the civilisation of Western Europe. It is not unlikely that he will entertain even an exaggerated idea of its military power, and shrink from encountering it. There are at least fair grounds for hoping that this will be the issue.

By far tho heaviest surf of the month swepfc tho beach yesterday morning, and tested to the uttermost the single line of fascines laid down on the previous evening between tbe oft-mentioned rights-of-way named after Messrs Moffatfc and Orr. • The slight breakwater withstood tha rush bravely — and we do rot hesitate to 9ay — saved many a fine bui'ding from destruction on tho west side of Uerell street. Further damage was, however, iuQicted upon their back premises, the surf at times being really awful, coming in as it did upon a nearly perpendicular faco from fifteen to twenty feet high. One monstrous roller washed into Moffat'3 right-of-way, and absolutely topped tho houses on either side. Ono or two wore burst in by the shock, and the same wave a little further south nearly carried our Evening contemporary's office by storm, one side of tho building being stovo-in. Measuros were at once taken by the proprietor to guard it from another assault by digging a deep trench and laying down a short line of fascines. When tha tide had sufficiently receded, strengthening and protecting the beach was proceeded with by the Government, fully one hundred men being put on to lay down another line of fascines outside, and parallel with tho first. The work was hurried forward, but was hardly finished when last night's flood tide reached it. It proved an immense success, and nmeli do we regret that similar vigorous efforts were not taken a few weeks ago to preserve the beach, as many thousand pounds worth of property would in that case have been saved. Of tho seoro3 of buildings that onco thronged tho beacli botwoen tho two riglrfc of ways not onoisleftstanding,and tho back promises of the principal hotels that have frontages to Revell street aro nearly destroyed. The damage already done is roughly estimatod at L 15.000. Wo understand that more fascines will bo laid down to-day, and that according to contract ono groin is to. bo comploted today, another to-morrow, and tho third on Friday. Wo cannot say that the groin already in place has done much good, but perhaps when supported by others on either side at moderate distances an eddy may bo created to cause the accumulation of sand. Mr George Cozens sold by auction, yesterday, tho stcok of groceries of Mr Angus, Eevell street. Very fair prices wore revised.

The concert in aid of the building fund of St. Mary's School, held at the Prince of Wales Opera House last evening, was a decided success, and was well attended. The children of the schools, who had been instructed by Mr H. Friend in vocal music, took a large part in the entertainment, and their performances certainly did great credit both to themselves and their instructor. Mrs Martin presided at tho pianoforte, and added greatly to the enjoyment of tho evening by the excellence of her accompaniments. Mr Griffiths, as violinist, was most effective. Tho concort opened with an instrumental performance, followed by a chorus by tho children, entitled " Tho Sailor Boy," which was loudly applauded. Then f >110 wed a song by a lady — " The Lonely Harp," which was a fine specimen of vocalization. The great length of tho programme, however, prevents us from noticing each piece, but we cannot refrain from bringing a few prominently forward. The gem of the evening was "Erin my country," which was beautifully sung by a lady, and elicited a loud encore. Then, too, the fine duct "What aro the wild waves saying" was splendidly rendered by two young ladies, twelve years of age and twin Bißters, and which was also encored ; answering to the call, the twins sang " The convent bells" with great taste and judgment. Four gentlemen, members of tho PhilharmonicSocioty, gave tho part-song "Evening" with great offect. One of the most pleasing features of the entertainniont was the air and chorus " Old John Brown," the air being sung by a very young lady and the chorus by the juveniles. Miss Buckingham and Mr Towers gave their valuable assistance in two comic duets, and Mr Lionel Harding wos applauded for two appropriate recitations. A duet, •'• Though we part in sorrow," was also very finely vocalised by a lady and gentleman. The performances closed with singing tho National Anthem, the whole of the audience upstanding. We cannot but congratulate the musical conductor Mr H. Friend, and the agent, Mr G. Boaver, on the great success which has attended their efforts. The causo was a noble one, and the atteudanco at the Prince of Wales Opera House last evening showed that the public fully appreciated the efforts made to provide them with an evening's rational amusement. A meeting of the Stewards of the Hokitika Races is called for this evening, at tho British Empire Hotel, at eight o'clock, when business of importance will be brought forward. J We understand that Messrs Pizzey and Co., brewers, Weld street, will shortly add to their large establishment a steam mashing.; apparatus, and that several other important improvements are also contemplated. When these are carried into effect, Messrs Pizzoy and Co.'s Brewery will be one of the most complete, if not the most complete in New Zoaland. Mr James Craig sold by auction, yesterday, at the stores of Mr W. Graham, near tho Post Office Hotel, a variety of drapery and clothing. Tho amount realised amounted, in the aggregate, to L 1770. This sale will bo continued on Friday. Tho German Association "Teulonia," on Monday evening last inaugurated a series of monthly German Readings and Entertainments tit tho Club Rooms, Kortegast Brothers Exchange Hotel. There wore rewards of thirty members of the club present, and an evening thoroughly enjoyable in all respects was spent. If tho opening entertainment is to be accepted as in any degree a sample of the series that are to follow, we congratulate the club upon the pleasant monthly re -unions that are before them for a long time' to come. As tho gathering was of an entirely social character, we refrain from mentioning the names of chairman, speakers, &c. There were a variety of toasts proposed and responded to, songs sung, recitations, &c, all with great success. The viands served up on the occasion were ample and of excellent quality, as were also tho wines, tho whole reflecting groat ere difc upon Messrs Kortogast Brothers, the caterers. It was a late hour when the party broke up, " cheered, but nofc inebriated" by their modorato Hbations to the shrine of the rosy god. Wo know of few things more pleasant than thoso little nationp l reunions in young and distant settlements. Long may the Club Teutouia flourish! Wo were latoly encouraged to take a very cheerful view of mining affairs in the Totara district, but it seems that at Ross they havo again suffered a heavy blow and great discouragement by the deluge of Saturday, which extended tho area of flooded ground, and stopped tho operations of the steam companios. The rain appears to have been unprecodenlly heavy, and in Jones' Creek has done very groat damage to miners, chiefly to tho whim claims in the flat by breaking away the creek banks and overflowing into paddocks, from which it quickly reached to many claims hitherto free from water. So rapid was the influx that in many of the shafts the men had greut difficulty in escaping ; tail races and all the sluicing appliances in the upper part of tho creek were completely destroyed, and until a secure channel is constructed for the creek the deep claims will probably remain unworkod. The men appear to have taken pi-ompt action, as on Monday a meeting was convened, at which a committee, consisting of Messrs Barrett, Cuming, Gordon, Gow, Jones, Jack, Malfroy, M'Donald, and Petersen, were appointed to take measuros for fluming the creek. The meeting was most numerously attended, and very considerable discussion look placo ; Mr Gordon occupied the chair, and Messrs Gow, Hoos, Prince, Malfroy, M'Donald, Jack, and several others, ' took active part 3. From the energy with which the men of Ross entered on tho tail race scheme thero can be little doubt that this smaller work will be promptly carried out, and tho place resume its old prosperity.